It has been a tumultuous year in South African politics, but we end it in slightly better shape than we started it – with a dangerous president increasingly running out of road, writes Arthur Christopher.

Kaymo's Korner: Working together isn't that hard, is it?

One of the first things I was taught as a cub sports ­reporter was that South African fans think they have doctorates in the sports they support.

That means you have to tread carefully when writing analyses because the perceived flaws in your argument will ­always be picked up.

That leads us to Proteas coach Russell Domingo, who on Monday unleashed verbal howitzers and grenades at former players after the team’s customary International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament failure.

The inability to get through knockout matches is now ingrained in the South

African cricketing psyche, which strengthens Domingo’s argument that former players have to watch what they say in terms of how the Proteas perform in tournaments.

While their arguments will always carry weight in terms of their stature as former players, it is rather rich to criticise when in their time they failed dismally. But Domingo is the team’s point man and has to carry the can when the results are negative.

Being truculent while occupying South Africa’s cricket hot seat won’t earn him any friends.

There is nothing wrong with constructive criticism and Domingo, who often says he knows who his

soundboards are, should take advantage of their views because those close to you often tell you what you want to hear, not what you need to hear.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the issue of failure in ICC tournaments and South African cricket, no one is wrong and no one is right. No one except the class of 1998, which won the ICC

Champions Trophy, can provide a formula for ICC success.

It is a compelling case of the blind leading the blind. The Proteas did not even do that badly, and for a change they didn’t even choke.

Tactical naivety rather than the inability to deal with crunch situations ­became the root cause of their failures.

Irrespective of the senior players’ ­decision-making and leadership power, the responsibility to formulate team strategy and the overall direction of the team lies with Domingo.

The transparency of the Proteas’ tactical acumen would make the Public Protector and government green with envy. They are that easy to decipher.

But this has been a typical South African trait through the years and does not look like it will change.

Even minnows like the Netherlands, who nearly embarrassed the Proteas a couple weeks back, knew what was coming. If your tactics are easily telegraphed, a change in thinking, not a change of think tank, is required.

This is where the “critics” and the stubborn Domingo have to put their heads together and help chart a way forward.

Domingo is a proven Cup winner at franchise level and those who failed at international level could provide much-needed insight on what went wrong in those tournaments. Put the guns down, brothers. Working together towards a common goal is not such a bad thing.

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